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Tennessee is trending in the right direction once again. The Volunteers won six straight to close 2019 and have now turned around to land a boatload of blue-chip recruits, ascending to No. 2 in the current class rankings.
Excitement is building, and not just within the fan base. Former players are seeing a change as well, sharing in everyone’s excitement. Peerless Price is the latest Volunteer to speak on the progress that Jeremy Pruitt has made. In an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show, Price spoke on the new era of Tennessee football.
“I’m a strong believer in Coach Jeremy Pruitt,” Price told Finebaum. “I think he has the right attitude, the right mindset and he’s been a part of championship teams previously before he came to Tennessee. We’re headed in the right direction. I think we have the right people in place. I think we’re getting the right guys to go out there and represent the University on the field and off the field. I think we’re in better shape today than we were, say, two years ago.”
Price played at Tennessee from 1995 through 1998. As a senior, Price pushed Tennessee to a national title, hauling in the iconic 79 yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to bury Florida State. He was named MVP of the game, totaling nearly 200 yards receiving.
In 2019, Tennessee rebounded from a 2-5 start to finish with an 8-5 mark. Wins over Mississippi State, South Carolina, Missouri and Kentucky marked the Vols’ progress, including a pretty competitive outing against Alabama.
Five-star defenders Dylan Brooks and Terrence Lewis headline Tennessee’s current 2021 class. Jeremy Pruitt now has 21 commitments, quickly running out of room to grow. But a few elite targets remain on the line. This class follows another top ten class from the 2020 cycle, perhaps officially signalling a change in trajectory for the program.
Price certainly believes that’s the case.
“I think once this 2021 class becomes juniors, we’ll be in the college football playoffs and competing for national titles.”
Tennessee has certainly closed the gap in the last two years, but there’s still quite a ways to go to get on the pure talent level of Georgia and Alabama. But as long as the Volunteers stay hot on the trail, they’ll be just fine.